The present invention relates in general to bottles for collecting untransferred developer material cleaned from reproduction apparatus dielectric members, and more particularly to an untransferred developer material collection bottle which is made of a conductive material and grounded to prevent static charge build-up.
In typical commercial reproduction apparatus such as electrostatographic copier/duplicators, printers, or the like, a latent image charge pattern is formed on a uniformly charged dielectric member. Pigmented marking particles are attracted to the latent image charge pattern to develop such image on the dielectric member. A receiver member is then brought into contact with the dielectric member. An electric field, such as provided by a corona charger or an electrically biased roller, is applied to transfer the marking particle developed image to the receiver member from the dielectric member. After transfer, the receiver member bearing the transferred image is separated from the dielectric member and transported away from the dielectric member to a fuser assembly at a downstream location. At the fuser assembly, the image is fixed to the receiver member by heat and/or pressure to form a permanent reproduction on such receiver member. Substantially simultaneously, the dielectric member is cleaned of untransferred marking particles and debris to enable the dielectric member to be readied for reuse.
In the cleaning process for the dielectric member, the untransferred marking particles and debris are collected and removed from the dielectric member, and accumulated in a collection bottle for later disposal in an environmentally friendly manner. The collection bottle has typically been made of a plastic material such as polyethylene for example. However, static charge associated with untransferred marking particles tends to build up on the surface of plastic bottles. At a high enough charge level, the static charge can arc to the nearest conductive surface. This is known to cause electrical interference problems which can adversely effect normal operation of reproduction apparatus. Furthermore, the build up of static charge may present a potential shock hazard, such as to the reproduction apparatus service personnel for example.
In view of the foregoing discussion, this invention is directed to a bottle for collecting untransferred developer material and debris cleaned from a dielectric member of a reproduction apparatus, whereby static charge build-up is substantially prevented. The collection bottle is a container having an opening adapted to receive untransferred developer material and debris therethrough for storage within the container. The container is made of a conductive material. The conductive material is a carbon-doped plastic having a volume resistivity of less than 10ohms cms with the carbon dopent being approximately 15-20% by weight. The container is coupled to electrical ground.
The invention, and its objects and advantages, will become more apparent in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment presented below.